Currently, assets such as residential real estate properties are typically sold from a seller to a buyer who are each represented by their own real estate agents. When a seller wants to sell their house, the seller elicits the services of a sellers' agent who markets the house and assists in the pricing of the house and in the negotiating of final purchase price. To market a house, the sellers' agent may list the house using a multiple listing service (“MLS”) that advertises the house to other real estate agents. A buyer who is interested in buying a house elicits the services of a buyers' agent who helps the buyer locate a house of interest and assists in the negotiating of the final purchase price. The buyers' agent shows the buyer the current inventory of houses that are for sale that may be of interest to the buyer. Assuming that a house of interest is currently for sale, then the buyer and the seller of the house negotiate a purchase price with the help of their agents. Upon completion of the sale, the seller may pay the sellers' agent a percentage of the purchase price as a commission. The sellers' agent may then share the commission with the buyers' agent.
Assets other than residential real estate may be sold using different marketing models. For example, fine art (e.g., a master's painting) may be sold at an auction conducted by an auction house. When the owner of the art wants to sell, the owner elicits the services of an auction house to advertise and conduct the auction for the art. The auction house may provide an appraisal for the art, contact potential buyers of the art, advertise the auction, conduct the auction, and coordinate the transfer of ownership from the seller to the winning bidder at the auction. The auction house may take as its fee a percentage of the winning bid price.
When a potential buyer is unable to locate an asset in which the potential buyer is interested, the potential buyer may advertise their interest in an asset with certain characteristics. For example, when a potential buyer wants to buy a certain type of antique automobile, that buyer may place a “want advertisement” in an antique automobile magazine. The advertisement may include a description of the automobile that is wanted, and the price that the potential buyer is willing to pay. An owner of an automobile that matches the description who is interested in selling can contact the potential buyer and negotiate the sale of the automobile. Although want advertisements can be effective for assets that can be described in a fairly objective way (e.g., a 1965 Mustang convertible like new), they are not as effective for assets that may have a fairly subjective component to their description (e.g., three-bedroom house with a nice view in a nice neighborhood).
The current models such as those described above for selling assets have various limitations. For example, a potential buyer of a house is typically limited to those houses that are currently being offered for sale. If none of the houses satisfy what the potential buyer is looking for in a house, then the potential buyer may buy a house that does not satisfy their needs or may become frustrated and simply not buy a house. It is very common, however, for people to notice and make mental note of houses they see which they would be interested in buying if available for sale. The knowledge that a person is interested in buying a house has economic value to the person and to the owner, which is currently not being captured. As another example, a potential buyer of fine art may not be able to buy art of interest that is not currently on the market, even though the owner would sell the art if the owner knew there was significant interest by potential buyers. It would be desirable to have a model for selling assets that would overcome these and other limitations and capture the economic value for the knowledge that people are interested in buying an asset that is not currently for sale.